Antharahk
Antharahk was a Makuta scientist and a member of the Brotherhood of Makuta. Known primarily for his extensive work with plagues and diseases, he also collaborated with the Makuta weapon engineer Drakah in warring against and destroying Leskya Nui by the order of Teridax. History Early History Like all other Makuta, Antharahk was created from a pool of Antidermis in the Southern Islands. He joined the Brotherhood of Makuta and was assigned to be the Makuta of the snowy, Matoran-populated Southern Island of Leskya Nui. He seemed to be acute at creating deadly diseases and pest Rahi. Other Makuta looked down upon him for making simple single-celled microorganisms and "real viruses" rather than magnificent Rahi creatures. After Miserix was overthrown he became loyal to Teridax. Called to War At some point in time, the Brotherhood ordered Antharahk to attack Leskya Nui due to the island's large population of Fa-Matoran in order to decrease the chances of Toa of Magnetism, who posed a significant threat to the Makuta, being created. Antharahk first developed and deployed an infection that could kill Fa-Matoran while leaving other Matoran unscathed and unsymptomatic. After the island's adaptable medical technologies proved capable of nullifying this, however, Antharahk began looking for new solutions. During an "examination" of his progress by Teridax, the Brotherhood leader considered dismissing the idea of only killing the Fa-Matoran. Teridax stubbornly objected but allowed Anthrahk to follow this rule, wanting to see if his subordinate could prove his worth by managing to exterminate the Fa-Matoran while killing as little of the other breeds of Matoran as possible. Antharahk eventually ruled out the usage of disease as his main weapon, much to his dismay. After scouring the Brotherhood and its associates for someone to assist him in this task, he found Drakah, a fellow Makuta and one of the Brotherhood's weapons engineers. She agreed not only to assist him in destroying the island's Fa-Matoran but also to collaborate with him in future experiments. The main weapon meant for use against Leskya Nui that the two designed was a mass-producible robotic soldier named the War Mongrel, with variants of them being given sapience through a combination of computers and a Kraata's mind. After experimenting with the behaviors of Sapient model War Mongrels, a unit named Ruthos proved himself worthy of being the "War General" of the growing army, second only to Antharahk (and, effectively, Drakah). As other Sapient model War Mongrels were created, some began to revolt against their creators. In response to this, Antharahk formulated a set of rules specifically directed toward the Sapient models, the infraction of which was punishable by being "recycled". Expectedly, the frequency of revolts dropped dramatically after these rules were set in place. War of Pestilence After equipping the War Mongrel army with weapons, Antharahk and Drakah launched their first attack on Leskya Nui. Immediately, the island's Toa team, led by Toa Vandir, retaliated. As more assaults were launched, the teams' three toa of Magnetism proved to be a significant threat to the robotic soldiers. This was until Drakah was able to develop an apparatus that could nullify their Elemental powers and stop the three Toa from destroying their troops by the dozens. In response, the Toa first organized a battalion of around 20 combat-trained elite Matoran to fight alongside them. Then, they convinced the immigrant Fe-Matoran Dehka to be transformed into a Toa of Iron. Dehka gave them back the advantage of being able to manipulate the very material their opponents were built from, as the device Drakah had created only targeted the Element of Magnetism. It was during this time that Antharahk began to become obsessed with capturing Dehka, not only to take away the advantage the Toa had but also to experiment on him. Drakah infested Leskya Nui's airwaves with broadcasts that caused drowsiness in those who listened and watched them, after which he set his sights on capturing him during his next attack. It was also at this time that Drakah finished a working prototype a weapon of mass destruction designed for destroying small towns, which she dubbed the Incendiary. Wishing to test it, she was able to convince Antharahk to not only use it in his next attack but also for his to visit the island during its detonation to observe its effects up close. Antharahk later stated that the only reason he agreed was so that he didn't have to argue with her anymore that day. As Ruthos had recently broken one of the strict rules imposed on him, Antharahk suggested that he go on the mission to detonate the Incendiary and purposefully die in its detonation. Ruthos agreed, and the attack went underway. Although Dehka was captured as he wanted, the Incendiary's detonation affected the whole island, killing a large majority of its populace and decimating the landscape. Likewise, Antharahk was affected by the blast, his most notable injury being the utter destruction of his lower right arm, which he grew to despise Drakah for. Aftermath After his abrupt and accidental victory, Antharahk became more distasteful of Drakah, who was delighted by the Incendiary destroying the island. He also became strangely distressed during this time. To relieve himself, he began his experimentation on Dehka, only allowing Drakah to assist him due to her knowledge in robotics which was invaluable to his tests. They began running a multitude of preliminary tests on other beings, the last of which resulted in the only subject who survived experimentation: Phi. For their success in destroying Leskya Nui, fellow Makuta scientist Mutran gifted Antharahk with a mutated abomination he had named Lotus. Antharahk kept it and planned to have Dehka fight it once he had been successfully enhanced through experimentation. With Phi a success, the two then moved on to Dehka, replacing many of his organic components with mechanical replacements, diminishing his Elemental abilities greatly, removing his dependency on a Kanohi, giving him a variety of scopes and sensors in his head, and attaching a computer to his brain to enhance his logical thinking. This proved to be a near-success, with the computer implant being the only component that seemed to have failed. They continued to run tests, the last test being the fated battle with Lotus, which Phi was sent to help him with. After Lotus escaped its containment and chased the Makuta through their laboratory, the combined force of them, Phi, and Dehka proved enough to kill it. Showing himself to be trusting of Antharahk, the experimentation on Dehka was deemed successful and he was allowed to leave to pursue a new career. Antharahk was also able to convince Drakah to design for him a prosthetic arm which bore a needle. Although he wanted it made as a mandatory apology for the oversight in designing the Incendiary that led to him losing his arm, Drakah kept it from him in secret after completing it, making it out to be a "gift". Shortly after Lotus's destruction, he found it hidden in a tool bin of Drakah's and begrudgingly took it. Description Forms Powers and Equipment As a Makuta, Antharahk was able to create, control, and absorb the element of Shadow. He possessed some, if not all, of the forty-two Kraata powers, although many were less powerful than normal as a result of neglection. He wore a Great Kanohi Jemena, the Mask of Binary Fission, which allowed him to fission a target into two separate beings for a short amount of time. After losing his lower right arm to the detonation of the first Incendiary on Leskya Nui, Antharahk was given a prosthetic arm made by Drakah. Built primarily from Protosteel, it possessed a clawed hand that could retract to make way for a long, telescoping hypodermic needle. A clear vial was stored underneath the elbow which held fluid that could be transported through the needle. Antharahk also possessed a pair of secondary arms tipped with blades which he rarely wore, much less used. Notably, Antharahk engaged in very few battles, especially those which he fought with his own hands. His Kraata powers were rarely used and his combat skills were rather underdeveloped. He chose to deal with violent conflicts more strategically and in less straightforward ways, but even then the very idea of combat itself was undesirable to him. The neglection of his Kraata powers led to their effectiveness lessening, something he called "atrophy", although it concerned him little. Personality and Traits Antharahk seemed to only ever have his eyes set on experimentation. He spent a large majority of his time in his lab, rarely leaving, and was considered a recluse by the other Makuta. It was only until he acquired the help of Drakah to assist him in waging the War of Pestilence when he found a true "friend". Even then, the relationship between the two was very troubled, as Drakah's controlling behavior was not something she chose to hide from him. A shared curiosity was, most likely, the only reason the two worked together for as long as they did. Where other experimenting Makuta were consumed by schadenfreude and drew joy from seeing others suffer, Antharahk was rather indifferent to such things. He never presented himself as empathetic but did lack the torturous mindset that other Makuta adopted, seeing it as cumbersome and wasteful of time in his pursuit of knowledge. Despite this, he used intimidation heavily during his war with Leskya Nui; even fellow Makuta called the tactics he used to be "bombastic". Appearances * Dirge - First appearance * The Feral Plains - Mentioned; Volumes ''VI'' & ''VII'' * Against the Storm/Volume II - Mentioned; Volumes ''II'', ''III'', & ''VI'' * Renascence Gallery Antharahkintro.JPG|Antharahk's Post-War form, as he appeared in a blog post AntharahkRen1.JPG|A revamped version of his Post-War form AntharahkRen2.JPG AntharahkRen3.JPG AntharahkRen4.JPG Trivia * Antharahk's name was derived from anthrax. * The origins of Antharahk are tied to the upcoming stealth action video game Yandere Simulator. In the game, there is a cheat code that allows the player to play as a character named "Ebola-chan," an anthropomorphic depiction of the Ebola virus. When using this cheat code, the track "Remnant of Twilight" from the game Hyrule Warriors plays. Cap began to build a moc while listening to the track for inspiration, with the idea of disease now in his mind. The result was Antharahk. * For a brief period, Cap built Antharahk with a short axe blade on the end of his prosthesis rather than a needle. * As with Drakah, Hysterix, and Tetradon, Antharahk alludes to one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse as they are commonly depicted in pop culture. He, obviously, represents Pestilence. Category:Makuta Category:Shadow Category:Brotherhood of Makuta Category:Scientists